Radicalisation, Recruitment and the EU
Counter-radicalisation Strategy
1 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Part I 1. INTRODUCTION...... 4 1.1. Why do young men…...... 4 1.2. Overview ...... 6 2. CAUSAL FACTORS OF RADICALISATION ...... 8 3. RADICALISATION AND RECRUITMENT ...... 10 4. METHODOLOGY ...... 14 5. CAUSES AND CATALYSTS...... 15 6. CAUSAL FACTORS AT THE EXTERNAL LEVEL ...... 18 6.1. Causes...... 18 6.2. Catalysts ...... 23 7. CAUSAL FACTORS AT THE SOCIAL LEVEL...... 25 7.1. Causes...... 25 7.1.2.1. The role of the Internet...... 27 7.1.2.2. The role of prisons...... 28 7.2. Catalysts ...... 30 8. CAUSAL FACTORS AT THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL...... 30 8.1. Causes...... 31 8.2. Catalysts ...... 34 9. VULNARABILITY...... 35 10. CASE STUDIES...... 38 10.1. Mohammed Bouyeri...... 40 10.2. Samir Azzouz...... 41 10.3. Mohammad Siddique Khan ...... 43
2 10.4. Shehzad Tanweer ...... 45 10.5. Richard Reid ...... 46 10.6. Patterns from case-studies...... 47
Part II
11. THE EU COUNTER-RADICALISATION STRATEGY ...... 50 11.1. Introduction ...... 50 12. EUROPEAN COUNTER-RADICALISATION AND COUNTERTERRORISM POLICIES FROM THE 9-11 ATTACKS TO THE PRESENT...... 51 13. RADICALISATION AND EU POLICIES...... 59 13.1. The EU Counter-Terrorism Strategy...... 60 13.2. The European Union Strategy for Countering Radicalisation and Recruitment to Terrorism ...... 61 14. ASSESSING EU COUNTER-RADICALISATION POLICIES ...... 63 14.1. Model for classification...... 63 14.2. Overlapping elements ...... 64 14.3. Some overlapping elements ...... 67 14.4. Missing elements...... 69 15. CASE STUDIES: UK AND AMSTERDAM...... 71 15.1. The UK approach ...... 71 15.2. The Amsterdam approach ...... 75 16. CONCLUSION...... 80 REFERENCES...... 87 EU Policy papers...... 96 Other sources...... 96
3 Part I
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Why do young men… Your democratically elected governments continuously perpetuate atrocities against my people all over the world. And your support of them makes you directly responsible, just as I am directly responsible for protecting and avenging my Muslim brothers and sisters. Until we feel security, you will be our targets. And until you stop the bombing, gassing, imprisonment and torture of my people we will not stop this fight. We are at war and I am a soldier
1 Muhammad Siddique Khan’s post-mortem video-statement, referred from Report of the Official Account of the Bombings in London on 7th July 2005, House of Commons, HC 1087, p 19.
4
5 Wij Amsterdammers 1.2. Overview
6
7 2. CAUSAL FACTORS OF RADICALISATION
8 methodological individualism causes catalysts
9 Level Types of causes Types of catalysts External level - - - - -
Social level - - - - -
Individual level - - - - -
3. RADICALISATION AND RECRUITMENT
10 The phenomenon of people embracing opinions, views and ideas which could lead to acts of terrorism” (EC, 2006).
2 In defining terrorism the present study follows the Council of the European Union, who refers to terrorism as international acts that were committed with the aim of seriously intimidating a population, or unduly compelling a government or international organisation to perform or abstain from performing any act, or seriously destabilising or destroying the fundamental political, constitutional, economic or social structures of a country or an international organisation.
11
3 Also Said Mansour in Denmark was in 2007 convicted for incitement of terror through distribution of books, leaflets, cds and dvds on Jihad and of condoning others to hold radical views.
12 the process of joining a group that embraces opinions, views and ideas which could lead to acts of terrorism”. self-recruitment,
13
4. METHODOLOGY
14
5. CAUSES AND CATALYSTS
15 regularly external
4 Religion and political ideologies are not considered singular causal factors, as they do not have a direct effect on individual behavior. They are regarded as sub-fields in the cultural and political sphere. For an elaboration on this issue, see 8.1.2. Please note that the three presented dimensions not necessarily are at the same level. Thus, economy and politics is assumed to be more susceptible to change, since they fluctuate much more than culture does.
16 absolute absolute relative individual
5 For a more extensive description of the subject see Par. 7.1.3. 6 Please note that stigmatization of Islam in the media for matters of definition is viewed as belonging to the cultural sphere – not because there is a culturally determined tendency to stigmatize Muslims in the media, but because the media is considered part of the cultural sphere.
17 catalysts reasons recruitment trigger events.
6. CAUSAL FACTORS AT THE EXTERNAL LEVEL 6.1. Causes 6.1.1. Political causes
7 Please note that integration is for matters of definition placed as part of the political sphere.
18 .
19 6.1.2. Economic causes
20
6.1.3. Cultural causes
21 ´ ´ within
8 For a critique of this approach to globalization, see Ronald Inglehart in (Inglehart, 2005).
22 Ummah
6.2. Catalysts 6.2.1. Recruitment accelerate top down
9 Thus, Olivier Roy denotes this neo-fundamentalism because of its sole reliance on text – that is on the Koran and the Sunna – which means that it is free of the cultural connotations of the different Middle Eastern countries and therefore is well suited for globalisation. (Roy, 2004).
23 6.2.2. Trigger Events
24 7. CAUSAL FACTORS AT THE SOCIAL LEVEL 7.1. Causes 7.1.1. Social identification Ummah
25 7.1.2. Network dynamics homophily social influence
26 social norms
27
10 For a critique of the claim that the internet functions as a “virtual training camp” for violent radicalization and terrorism, see (Nesser, 2008)
28 7.1.3. Relative deprivation
29 7.2. Catalysts 7.2.1. Recruitment 7.2.2. Trigger events
8. CAUSAL FACTORS AT THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL
30 8.1. Causes 8.1.1. Psychological characteristics 8.1.2. Personal experiences “in this or that American foreign policy error, but in the extremely abusive families of the terrorists” .
31 causes ´
32 Declaration of War 8.1.3. Rationality
11 This off course still leaves open the question why they chose a radical Islamist group instead of the Hell’s Angels, the mafia, the army or a group of hooligans. 12 For a more detailed description of Crenshaw’s (1981) deliberations on the causes of terrorism see Work package 3: ‘Exploring root and trigger causes of terrorism’
33 8.2. Catalysts 8.2.1. Recruitment 8.2.2. Trigger events
34 9. VULNARABILITY groups individuals
35
36
37
10. CASE STUDIES
38
13 Other European terror-cases could off course have been chosen. For an overview of some of the cases, see (Bakker 2006; Taarnby 2005, 2006)
39 10.1. Mohammed Bouyeri
40
10.2. Samir Azzouz
41
42
10.3. Mohammad Siddique Khan
43
44
10.4. Shehzad Tanweer
45
10.5. Richard Reid
46 10.6. Patterns from case-studies
47
48
49 Part II
11. THE EU COUNTER-RADICALISATION STRATEGY
11.1. Introduction
50
12. EUROPEAN COUNTER-RADICALISATION AND COUNTERTERRORISM POLICIES FROM THE 9-11 ATTACKS TO THE PRESENT
51 .20
, European cooperation against terrorism. Conference proceedings.
52
The European Union and terrorism
53
Working structures of the Council in terrorism matters – Options paper.
54
EU Plan of Action on Combating Terrorism – Update. EU Plan of Action on Combating Terrorism. EU-US declaration on combating terrorism.
55
Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament. Prevention, preparedness and response to terrorist attacks. Commission agrees 5 year Roadmap for Freedom Justice and Security Commission agrees 5 year Roadmap for Freedom Justice and Security Terrrorist recruitment: a Commissions’s Communication addressing the factors contributing to violent radicalization
56 , “[t]he challenge of combating radicalization and terrorist recruitment lies primarily with the Member States, at a national, regional and local level. However, EU work in this field (…) can provide an important framework to
Responses to the threat of terrorism and effects on communities Responses The European Union Counter-Terrorism Strategy. Prevent, Protect, Pursue, Respond.
57 help co-ordinate national policies; share information and determine good practice. But addressing this challenge is beyond the power of governments alone and will require the full engagement of all populations in Europe and beyond”. The Expert Group on Violent Radicalization is advising on any matter relating to violent radicalization and terrorism, is giving policy advice and identifying new research areas required into the phenomenon of violent radicalization and terrorism. It exchanges expertise with networks, institutes or other bodies of the EU, in member states, third countries and international organizations working in the same field. The Group prepares a synthesis report on the state of play of research in the field of violent radicalization. 43 “the Commission continues to be fully committed to the implementation of the EU Counter- Terrorism Strategy”. 44
The European Union Counter-Terrorism Strategy. Prevent, Protect, Pursue, Respond.’ EU Counter-Terrorism Strategy
58 Strategy for Combating Radicalization and Recruitment Framework Decision on Combating Terrorism
13. RADICALISATION AND EU POLICIES
prevent
Implementation of the EU Counter-Terrorism Strategy – Discussion Paper The EU Strategy for Combating Radicalization and Recruitment – Implementation report Implementation of the Strategy and Action Plan to Combat Terrorism
59 13.1. The EU Counter-Terrorism Strategy prevent
60 prevent - - - - - - -
13.2. The European Union Strategy for Countering Radicalisation and Recruitment to Terrorism
61
48 Pagina: 62 This measure is off course more directed towards terrorism rather than towards the processes radicalisation, since if someone goes to a training camp, he or she can be considered as being already radicalised.
62
14. ASSESSING EU COUNTER-RADICALISATION POLICIES
14.1. Model for classification
63 high medium low Degree of Causes overlap External Social Individual Catalysts High Medium Low 14.2. Overlapping elements
overlapping elements 14.2.1. Political causes
64 14.2.2. Cultural causes
within
49 Discussing discrimination and stigmatization of Muslims in Europe under the label of “cultural causes” does not imply that we regard this as something which can be considered a European cultural trait. This discussion is merely placed under “cultural causes” as a matter of definition.
65
14.2.3. Network Dynamics
14.2.4. Recruitment as a catalyst
66
14.3. Some overlapping elements
14.3.1. Economic causes
14.3.2. Social identification
67 14.3.3. Relative deprivation
68
14.3.4. Trigger events as a catalyst
trigger events
14.4. Missing elements
69 missing elements 14.4.1. Psychological characteristics
14.4.2. Personal experiences
14.4.3. Rationality
70
15. CASE STUDIES: UK AND AMSTERDAM
15.1. The UK approach
71
51
72
73
74 15.2. The Amsterdam approach
Wij Amsterdammers
75 Processes of radicalisation: why young Muslims in Amsterdam radicalize 53 Wij Amsterdammers
52 53
76 . - -
77 -
- - Meld- en Adviespunt) - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
78
79 16. CONCLUSION
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81 perception
82
83
84 Wij Amsterdammers
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86 REFERENCES Political Islam in the Netherlands Recruitment for the jihad in the Netherlands From dawa to jihad Violent Jihad in the Netherlands, The radical dawa in transition Annual Report 2004, : Psychiatric Annals, NRC Handelsblad, New Media in the Muslim World: The Emerging Public Sphere, Jihad vs. McWorld. Terrorism’s challenge to democracy, Psychological Bulletin BBC News Online, www.news.bcc.co.uk BBC News Online
87 www.sociosite.org De Groene Amsterdammer, September 29 th Root Causes of Terrorism: Myths, Reality and Way Forward Psychology of Terrorism, Psychology of terrorism The Logic of Social Action. An Introduction to Sociological Analysis Defence and Peace Economics , European Journal of Political Economy ´ ´ Conflict Management & Peace Science, Strijders van eigen bodem. Radicale en democratische moslims in Nederland, Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (2007) The Role of Muslim Identity Politics in Radicalisation (A Study in Progress) www.edition.cnn.com Foundations of Social Theory
88 Comparative Politics, Origins of Terrorism: Psychologies, Ideologies, Theologies, States of Mind Political Psychology merican Sociological Review The History of Violence in America, Journal of Psychohistory Annual Review of Psychology, vol. Time/CNN, Public Choice, A theory of cognitive dissonance,
89 Social Pressures in Informal Groups, Mediterranean Quarterly, Times Online Why men rebel Root Causes of Terrorism, Modernization, Cultural Change and Democracy: The Human Development Sequence Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis , NRC Handelsblad, 24 January Forensic Reports, Terror in the mind of God, Jihad: the Trail of Political Islam, The War for Muslim Minds: Islam and the West, Suicide Bombers: Allah’s New Martyrs
90 Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, Elsevier, Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 2, pp. Journal of Economic Perspectives International Organisation The Age of Terrorism A History of Terrorism, Policy Review, Guardian Unlimited World Politics International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (IESS) Aggression and Violent Behavior Prospect Magazine, International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World (ISIM Newsletter International Herald Tribune Sociological Methods & Research,
91 Annual Review of Political Science, Times Online, Times Online, Annual Review of Sociology In Iedereen Schuilt een Terrorist, ‘Countering radicalisation through development assistance – A Country Assessment Tool’ American Sociological Review Jihad in Europe. A survey of the motivations for Sunni Islamist terrorism in post-millennium Europe Terrorism and Political Violence DIIS-Brief The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups, The American Political Science Review, The New York Times, Dying to win: The strategic logic of suicide terrorism, Policy Analysis,
92 Social Forces, Terrorism, Origins of Terrorism: Psychologies, Ideologies, Theologies, States of Mind Origins of Terrorism: Psychologies, Ideologies, Theologies, States of Mind CNN www.reuters.com What terrorists want. Understanding the terrorist threat, The failure of political Islam, Globalised Islam: The search for a new Ummah, Relative Deprivation and Social Justice: A Study of Attitudes to Social Inequality in Twentieth-Century England, ‘Prisons, radical Islam’s new recruiting ground?
Patterns of recruitment in US , and comparison with the UK , Spain and Fran- ce’ Understanding terror networks. Time Magazine,
93 Al-Qaeda and the Internationalization of Suicide Terrorism Psychology, Crime and Law Processen van radicalisering: waarom sommige Amsterdamse moslims radicaal worden, Affect, cognition, and stereotyping: Interactive processes in group perception, Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, Terror in the name of God: Why religious militants kill, The ultimate terrorists, Recruitment of Islamist Terrorists in Europe: Trends and Perspectives Working Paper, The social psychology of intergroup relations, European Journal of Social Psychology,
94 Social identity and intergroup relations, The social dimension: European developments in social psychology, ‘ , Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Journal of Personality & Social Psychology Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Find Law, Addiction, Substance Use & Misuse De Volkskrant, , Elsevier, The Hofstadgroup: A radical Islamic network
95 Nederlandse Jihad. Het proces tegen de Hofstadgroe, Journal of Conflict Resolution, The Washington Post ´ ´ Middle East Policy Terrorism Monitor,
EU Policy papers
Other sources
96 een vervolg op Wij Amsterdammers
97